Better Left Unsaid
by ScribblinDiaz
Summary: A year since Billy's untimely death and someone new has moved into his place. The Expendables believed all ties with Billy were gone, but when the new neighbour discovers secret files about an unfinished mission of Billy's, the team knows the only way to truly lay his spirit to rest is to finish what Billy started long ago. Question is, is the new neighbour of any use?
1. Chapter 1

With the new movie coming up I've found I have to get my excitement out somehow, and what better then to write a little something! First chapter is a shorty, but more to come- thank you for reading! :)

* * *

The boys sat around the garage unlike any other night. A beer in hand and some funny stories, their voices carried far from the open garage door. But tonight was different. Their laughs were not as bellied and the music not as enjoyable as it had been every other moment. As Hale finished his story their laughs carried off and a soft hush fell over the crew. Tonight was the eve of Billy's death, and not a thought in their minds could mend that heavy-handed fact.

Barney stood from his bike and walked solemnly away from the group to lean against the metal frame of the door. His gaze carried sky wards to the building across the back lane. The building itself was nothing but a laundry mat and above that was an old warehouse attic.

* * *

_Barney smiled at the kid. He had been with them only a month yet he was already a little brother to all of them—and somewhat of a son to Barney, "What can I do you for Billy?"_

_"Well you see, I was thinking… to be a more valued asset to the team… I should probably move closer to the shop." Billy looked down at his feet nervously, "I mean, that way I'd always be more prepared to take on jobs with you guys."_

_He glanced up from his nervous shuffling to read Barney's expression, but all he found was warmth, "See I already kinda got a place… I hope it's not a problem."_

_"Of course not! Your mom's gonna be alright though?" Barney had never asked Billy to move to the city because he knew just what a sacrifice that would be. Billy's dad had passed away a few years back, but his mother still hadn't moved passed it. Since then Billy had taken on the protector and breadwinner of the house, never leaving his mother's side until it came to the army, and now the Expendables._

_"Ya she'll be fine. I'm still gonna help her with the bills, but she understands. Its for the best—for both of us." His smile was bright and hopeful, but Barney could see a small glimmer of pain in his eyes. It was for the best though, the kid needed to grow, and although Barney knew the Expendables wasn't a great start for him, he'd do what he could to set that kid on the right track._

_"So you need help moving then? Me and boys will definitely lend a hand—"_

_"No need Barney, I didn't have much to move. I'm already settled in" He glanced sheepishly again at Barney._

_"What is it kid? Where is this place?"_

_He smiled and turned his head to glance at the windows above the laundry mat across the back lane. Ross instantly chuckled and slapped the kid on the back; "Wow we really got you in our back pocket now!"_

* * *

"How's his mother doing?" Hale piped up, while the rest watched equally as interested.

"After sending the majority of his cut to his girlfriend, and shipping what he had in that apartment to his mom, we also sent her a nice cut to help her get by… well I did anyhow."

"Barney why didn't you ask us?" Toll's temper started the flare but no one took it seriously, it was Toll Road after all.

"Yea Ross, what's the deal?"

"It was on me that he made that move, that he joined this crew. I made a promise I couldn't keep and I'll pay for that for the rest of my—" Before Barney could finish, and anyone could interject with a sarcastic comment, a light came on in the apartment across the street. Hale and Toll jumped to their feet and met Barney at the door while the rest sombrely walked up.

"I thought it was vacant?!" Hale could never keep his voice down, but this time was a special occasion.

"It was, I check the place often to make sure—" Again before Barney could finish a shadow past across the ceiling.

"Well its definitely not vacant anymore." Lee took a swig of his beer and turned on his heels and walked back into the garage, that was enough excitement for him.

"Well I'm gonna check it out." Hale took off across the back lane; the only one trying to stop him was Barney.

He grabbed him by the hand but there's no stopping Hale, "Caesar stop, you're gonna start something none of us are gonna help you finish." But he wouldn't listen, kicking the door in and beginning to yell as he galloped up the stairs.

Sending an accusatory glance at the rest of the team Barney threw his hands in the air. "Thanks, real helpful."

"What?" Yang gave him a look, "I'm off the clock."

* * *

"Hey!" Hale began with a knock at the door, but it slowly turned into a beating. He reconciled in his mind that he was probably acting on the liquor in his system but that was also the perfect reason to not care.

"Who is it?" The voice had attitude, even a temper in its tone, but that's not what stopped Hale in his assault on the wooden door. It was a woman.

"Uh.." He glanced down the stairs but of course he was alone, _thanks guys, appreciate it,_ "Its uh.. Its Hale. I live—well I mean I'm sort've your neighbor. "

It was silent for a while before he received a reply, short and curt, "Yea, and?"

"Well I just thought I'd introduce myself, as a neighbour."

* * *

She was pacing in her kitchen, chastising herself for considering even opening the door. The apartment was cheap but certainly wasn't in the greatest of areas. The lovely Chinese couple downstairs had warned her that many biker gangs frequented the area. Luckily she worked at home, and hardly had a need for leaving (especially at night) so it seemed like she could skim by unnoticed. But not even a week in and here she was getting a knock at her door at 1 in the morning.

Throwing on her robe she marched to the door, "Yea, " she dared a quick look through the peephole. On the other side was a tall, oversized black man smiling a charming but almost frighteningly nervous smile. "You introduced yourself. Ya done?"

"Well no.. not really, you don't even know my name."

"And mine either, looks like a fair deal. Goodnight."

"Look I'm sorry to bother you, I just… I sorta told my friends I was gonna come up here and see who moved in and if I leave empty handed…" She looked through the peephole again and half smiled, he genuinely looked disappointed and nervous to meet his friends after this.

With that she marched over to the back window and sure enough, across the way, were 5 guys standing around laughing and drinking. They looked rough around the edges even with the smiles on their faces. Her gaze followed the warm light into the garage where she could see a few chrome muscle bikes but nothing else from her vantage point. She was risking a lot by doing this, but she also figured she should stand her ground and earn some respect. It was too late to pretend she didn't occupy the space. Thrusting her window open, she popped her head out.

* * *

Each were taking turns putting bets on Hale. Whether he'd make it in, get his ass kicked, or get the cops called, "I bet you he's standing outside the door kicking his own ass for going up there!" Toll chuckled to himself.

"We all know he's a teddy bear, but I wouldn't want open my door at this time of night to a drunk his size, " Gunnar added.

"Hey!"

Looking up they noticed a person leaning out the window in a silk Asian robe and long dark hair casting a silhouette over their face. It caught them off guard, a woman was not at all what they expected.

"Shit" Barney uttered and motioned for Gunnar to go get Hale.

"I'm assuming you're the friends of the belligerent man at my door. " Her voice was strained and tired, no doubt she found nothing funny about this situation.

"Yea, sorry about that, no ones lived in that apartment for quite some time. We didn't stop him from going up cause—"

She cut him off, "Whatever the reason, could you please remove him before I call someone else who will?" With that she ducked inside and shut the window.

That was the third time that night Barney had been cut off, and he was feeling pretty stupid by this point. As soon as Gunnar came out the back door with Hale in tow, Barney had quick and heated words with them all. He wasn't about to lose control of his team and cause them any more embarrassment.

After finishing their drinks the team cleaned up and went their separate ways. It'd be a few days before Tool would fish for some leads; they all need a reprieve from the night of remembering Billy.

Lee was the last to leave, hanging around as Barney's second for a short heart to heart. "You know Barney, they can't help themselves. Especially tonight. We're all getting a little anxious for a job."

"Yea I get it Christmas, its coming. I have Tool putting his feelers out by the end of the week."

Zipping up his biker jacket, helmet under his arm, Lee pointed with his freehand up to the building, "What do'ya make of all this?"

"Just a tenant and a reason for us to let go a little more is'all. I honestly never expected Chao to rent out the place as it wasn't even up for grabs when Billy was asking for it." He played around with his hat in his hands; even mentioning the kids name seemed hard.

A low rumble of a laugh escaped Lee, a hand knocking on his helmet, "He was a good kid Barney, and you did right by him. I think its time you let up on yourself a little bit and see that."

He walked backwards towards his bike, "And if you want to do right by that girl, you should probably apologize tomorrow-and maybe put a couple more apologies in the jar, lord knows with this group, we'll be needing it."


	2. Chapter 2

The doorbell rang causing the light sleeper to bounce from her bed and stumble to her bedroom door. She tripped several times trying to get her slippers on and her robe at the same time all while keeping one eye open, uttering mainly to herself, "Stop. Please stop. Make it stop."

Reaching the door her eyes flitted several times and one long yawn later she was looking through the peephole. She must've bounded to the door louder then she thought because the man on the other side tipped his hat to her the moment she looked through. "Whoa." She whispered and without using her best judgment opened the door just wide enough for the chain to be pulled taut.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, uh.. sorry to wake you, the names Barney-Barney Ross."

"Great." She didn't admit it out loud but she finally recognized him vaguely as one of the men in the street the night before.

"I just wanted to come by and apologize for the behavior of my friend last night. He's a great guy, just a bit of a jokester." He smiled, but she could easily tell it was forced.

Truth be told Barney's skin was crawling. He felt like a dad making a house call to apologize for his rebellious teen son. One thing was for sure; he was too old for this.

He watched her, her green eyes starring him down. From what he could tell through the narrow width of the door opening, she was wearing the same robe as last night, her long brunette mane was messy but not unattractive in the least. She was young, but not too young to forgive and forget. Seconds passed before he realized she hadn't replied and he was awkwardly sizing her up like she was an appliance. "Look, the guys are coming by for a drink again tonight, you're welcome to join us."

"Why?"

_Boy, she gets right to the point._ "To show you we aren't so bad after all. We might seem a little rough and worst for the wears but I promise you, if you need any help you can call on Barney." _That sounded better in my head._

"Whose Barney?"

"Me. Barney Ross. I introduced myself earlier…" This was getting worse by the minute.

"Right. Sorry. I'm Brass."

His eyebrows raised slightly, perhaps this was going better then he had assumed. At this point he thought he'd never smooth things over, let alone get a name.

"Brass." He said thoughtfully to himself, "Well Brass you're welcome to come by tonight, drinks are on us."

She stood in front of the bag, hands wrapped, gloves on and music at just the right volume. Having many emotions to play off she began with a slow circuit. Her breath burst with every hit, slow and steady. As the music picked up—some good ol' Cajun rock—so did her hits. Harder, faster, she smashed into the bag as sweat began dripping from her brow.

Being out on her own, looking for a place, having little to her name, all of this played on her mind culminating to the main reason she was there in the first place. Suddenly her jab hitched and her cross-failed to land as precisely as it had been doing. Anger bubbled over as the beat of her music became over run by some ol' house of hair band bellowing from the garage below. _Of course, _she huffed, _two nights in a row of this madness, why not?_ The difference this time was she wasn't going to wait till 1 in the morning to fix the issue.

She tossed her gloves to the side and quickly wiped the sweat from her brow before shoving the window open—rather forcefully this time. "Hey! Hey Ross!"

"I'm telling you man, if I wasn't coming here tonight I totally would've made a move." Hale said, sincerity written across his face before taking a proud swig of beer. He ignored the laughter of the group who didn't seem to buy his story of his encounter with a hot senorita at the liquor mart.

"Hey! Hey Ross!"

"Did you guys hear something?" Lee asked, pausing before throwing a knife.

"I think you're losing it Christmas." Toll piped up, knocking his beer with Hale's in a small salute.

"No, I heard it too." Barney got up from his stool and walked to the edge of garage door, peering down the street. It was dark and empty, the moon reflecting off the puddles of stale water that never made it down the drain.

"Up here."

He stepped back as his gaze fell upon Brass leaning out her window again. This time without the robe and settling for a more aggressive demeanor, her hands were wrapped from boxing and hair tied back in a high ponytail. Keeping his gaze away from her chest as it fell heavily with each breath, he cleared his throat, "Brass! What are you doing, why don't you come on down?"

"I'm busy. Could you keep the noise down?"

"We're just having a little get together, we don't mean no harm." He smiled, this time a little more genuine and less forced then earlier in the day. She noticed tattoos on his arms poking up from beneath his tightly fitted black tee, she should be nervous—he certainly seemed like biker gang material—but for some reason they seemed rather harmless to her.

"Great then you won't mind obliging a girl?"

As she attempted to close the large window again, Barney chimed in while he had the chance, "You box?"

"Uh…" Brass had been a little worn out to pick up on her appearance, and only realized now that her leaning halfway out a window may have been inappropriate.

"Come on down, I'll get you a beer, and we'll talk shop."

* * *

She looked at herself in the mirror. She wore her hair simple; wavy, tousled and barely touched since her hot shower. Her make-up was also just enough to call herself presentable with dark eyeliner and a smoky touch. Honestly she could've showed up in sweatpants and an oversized sweater and none would've held it against her, but she felt the need to take this invite a little seriously.

"This is ridiculous."

What she was having the most trouble with was what to wear. She owned very little, and barely leaving the house meant she had less appearances to keep up with. Flipping between a few outfits she finally threw them onto her bed and just starred at her reflection. "Its just a beer."

She grabbed some green tight fitting pants and a loose white muscle shirt, "Whatever" Brass commented again under her breath and proceeded to head over to the garage.

Although she had met Barney earlier, she couldn't shake her nerves, she wasn't the greatest at meeting new people. Especially in this setting where it felt like they had all been waiting for her to make an appearance.

"Well hot damn, it's the belle of the ball!" Tool called out, hands rising high in the air in praise. Gunnar and Toll began whistling and calling out. Usually Hale joined in but this time he sat quietly on his stool praying she wouldn't recognize him.

"Everyone calm down, this is Brass. If you all remember a lick of last night, you'll know she's our new neighbor across the street above Chao's laundry."

She smirked sheepishly and gave a curt nod.

"Need a drink there lil' lady?" Tool asked.

Without a second thought she nodded, "Hell ya."

Gunnar laughed, "Now that's a woman."

"Its just a drink, " Brass commented without holding back, and the guys all called out in unison.

"Alright, alright," Barney attempted to calm them down, "Brass, this here is Toll."

She sized them up one at a time. Toll with his old hat and Hawaiian shirt. She also noted the cauliflower ears but from the camaraderie in the group she could guess it probably would've been a soft spot for him and didn't linger too long with her gaze.

"Next up is Yang."

"Pleased to meet you." His accent was thick and his frame small. Although his tone seemed careless he also seemed like the most friendly and least likely to toss comments her way.

"That's Hale, but you probably remember him"

"How could I forget? He's making the same scared expression he had outside my door last night." Everyone glanced towards Hale, who tried his best to change his posture and raised his eyebrows as high as he could but all it did was make him look even more scared. "Ya, that expression exactly."

Before the group could get out of control Barney moved onto the next member, "Gunnar."

"Hey." He cast her a sideways glance from a quick sip of his beer. His eyes looked hungry, his hair wet with sweat and his body hunched ever so slightly. You could almost call him a modern day Viking.

"Watch out for that one." Toll added.

Gunnar's eyes changed to a more playful expression, "I don't bite."

_Noted. _Brass thought to herself, the list getting longer and longer. "And next up is Lee."

Now it was her turn to take a cold long drink. He wasn't anyone she had noticed in the alley the night before, and if she had she might've re thought her outfit, or even her showing up. He smirked and nodded in her direction but she didn't seem to have his attention. He looked well dressed in a European way, a thick woolen sweater and dark pants. His five o'clock shadow was definitely more of a statement then carelessness. A statement she mentally approved of. Her mouth opened slightly as if to make a comment, but instead she thought against it and drank some more.

"And last, but not least, Tool."

"Hey there, I run this little tattoo shop out of this garage, so if your needing a little ink feel free to hit up ol' uncle Tool." He tipped his old worn cowboy hat in her direction, the gleam of his silver and white teeth shining in the dull garage light.

"So…you all live here or something?"

"Oh hell no, we'd never survive the week!" Toll slapped Yang on the shoulder, but Yang's expressionless, humorless face never changed.

"Nah we just get together from time to time. I live here, in the building beside where I run a shop fixing up cars. Tool runs this side as a tattoo shop. " Barney leaned away from her slowly, back stepping towards the group.

It was suddenly apparent that she was on her own, and fair game.

"So… 'Brass', what do you do?" Lee questioned what was playing on everyone's mind. She didn't like his tone, almost accusatory.

"I'm a freelancer, I work from home." She learned over the years that fewer details worked better with the general public.

"And what brought you to this side of the tracks?" She glanced at Yang; she didn't expect him to ask anything.

The conversation went on from there. Most questioning her choice of the rough biker side of town, but she didn't have to give them much of an answer. It seemed they all lived a little mysteriously and weren't much for prying answers out of others.

She had little conversations with each, slowly becoming more in tune with their personalities. Hale apologized greatly for his blunder and she happily accepted, he seemed to sweet to hold that over his head. For one of the biggest men there she found it hard to believe he could hurt a fly, never mind her.

By the end of the night Hale had moved passed his nervous demeanor around her and had become incredibly comfortable by her presence…or perhaps had a little to much to drink again. Hoisting the girl over his shoulder he called out like Tarzan while Brass beat against his back jokingly for him to let her down.

After all the fun and games the guys began to settle down, Yang leaving to get some sleep and Tool heading upstairs with some girl who stopped by. Brass wasn't overly surprised and didn't bother asking if it was a normal occurrence. Only in the calm from all the horsing around did she realize she had yet to speak to Lee since their first introduction. Not once did he approach her, and she was fairly certain she hadn't even seen him in the last hour.

Suddenly her hand was grabbed and she gasped in shock as she jerked it out of the persons grip. She had been so lost in looking around the room for Lee that she failed to notice the Viking strutting up behind her. "What's with your knuckles?"

"What?" Her bewilderment ended when she noticed the small cuts, "Oh, I was hitting to close to the bag today—bad habit."

"You box?"

"Ya, no fights, haven't been in one place long enough to compete honestly. But it's definitely a hobby of mine."

Gunnar nodded in Barney's direction, "Did you show her the ring?"

"Yea Barney! No one else is using it!" Hale chimed in.

"The ring?" Brass asked, her voice light, trying not to push it with him. He had been very nice to her this evening but she couldn't shake the sensation that he was the leader of this rough little group and didn't want to push his buttons. She was only a quest after all.

"Oh come on, don't bother with that." A gravely deep British lilt entered the conversation from a corner of the room.

"Why not Lee? We were gonna sell it all anyway, might as well make some use out of it."

"Cause the girl wouldn't want to be bothered with some dusty old antique of a room. Or have you all forgotten the state you left it in?" His glare was hard and unrelenting on the group before finally meeting her eyes. She held her breath, he was beautiful but she was starting to get irritated with his attitude.

"Girl?" She broke the silence by creating a whole new kind of awkward. Lee locked eyes with her and for some reason, he couldn't quite grasp why, but her presence irritated him. More then irritated actually, it was practically under his skin. It wasn't about her looks, she was exactly his type—more so then his last girlfriend. He furrowed his brow as he began to compare the two in his mind. Her tight green pants hid nothing of the fact that she enjoyed boxing, if anything it accentuated it. Her muscle shirt hung, denying them all a chance to see the curve of her waist but hung low enough to show a glimpse or two of her black bra from just the right angle. _Lace never had that kind of confidence, at least not around me._ Suddenly he grew solemn. He shouldn't be dragging up the past, last night was enough and certainly more important then a breakup—a mutual one at that.

"Well I think it's a bit late for that anyway." Barney said uncomfortably, tossing a glare over his shoulder at Lee before facing back to Brass with a warm albeit fake smile. "Why don't you come by tomorrow and I'll show our old training room. We use the machines from time to time, but rarely do we touch the old ring I have set up or the heavy bags."

"Thanks Barney, It was great meeting all of you!" She smiled brightly and the dark expression she had worn in their presence the night before, and that morning with Barney, was dissipating from memory. Until of course her eyes met with Lee again only this time he didn't hold her gaze.

She walked to the bar and grabbed her stuff; a couple of the guys approached her to ask her about boxing, disregarding her attempts to leave.

"Christmas. You told me yourself to go over there and apologize." Barney strutted over, his voice a harsh whisper.

"I didn't say bring the girl back here, now you're complicating things."

"No Lee, you are. Walk her home, apologize, and get off your high horse. I don't know why you're in a mood but fix it." That's all it took from the strong leader and Lee was on his feet approaching Brass with a slow jog as she waved her final goodbyes and walked towards the garage door.

When she turned back she nearly walked into him, her face instantly blushing, "What do you want?"

"How nice." Lee smiled arrogantly.

"I get that a lot." She quipped.

"I don't."

"Big surprise. Well 'Lee', it was nice meeting you, regardless if the feeling is mutual for you or not." She shot back, using the same accusatory tone he had used when addressing her earlier.

He grabbed her softly by the arm before she got completely out of range, "I'll walk you home."

"I'm literally across the street, I can manage." Her green eyes stared him down, unwavering.

"Then how am I supposed to make up for my poor behavior tonight?"

"Fine. If you think you can do that in the next 30 seconds between now and my front door, be my guest."

Lee's smile broadened this time and he let out a rasp chuckle, "I'll see you tomorrow Brass, bring your gloves." His expression was mischievous, and his voice husky. He was close, closer then she had noticed.

"You're on."


	3. Chapter 3

To the guest who reviewed with "update". I like your honesty ;)

* * *

The sun was shining through her dusty windowsill, waking Brass up way before her alarm. The warmth and god like rays that washed over her skin filled her with an amazing hopefulness. She was anticipating a wonderful day boxing at Barney's gym, and nothing was going to wipe that grin off her face, not even the underlying nerves of dealing with Lee again.

Lee.

"What an asshole." She mumbled as she stepped into the shower. 5 minutes later she stepped out, her mind not even the slightest bit clearer, "such an asshole." She continued out loud.

She swiped the steam from the mirror and shoved her toothbrush into her mouth, her attitude slowly souring as she focused more and more on the British bloke. "Wherduzhegetuffanyway" She mumbled as toothpaste foamed out over her lips.

Moments later she was getting dressed in casual boxing wear, not wanting to gear up completely if the place turned out to be underwhelming. She adorned short nike tight black shorts and a yellow muscle shirt. Her handwraps her black and stuffed into her gym bag along with her bag gloves and sneakers.

Now the waiting game.

_Is it too early to go now? He did show up at my place pretty early yesterday… _ She walked to her door awkwardly, turning around several times as she reconsidered her timing before finally settling on marching over there and playing it cool. As she stepped out the back door into the street she heard the metallic sound of power tools working on an old America muscle car. Barney was definitely awake and working.

Before being noticed by either Tool or Barney, Brass took her own little look around. Much of the garage had been dark and unlit the night of the get together, but now seeing it in the light of day she make out the 'man-cave' vibe even more. Old Harley jackets were framed and hung against the corrugated metal frames. A colorful dart board was hung up with many indents and holes cut in it, clearly not being used for darts.

She set her bag down on the bar and walked behind the counter to the wall where small pictures of the group from over the years were taped up. They're smiles were always bright, no matter the years that passed between photos. Some faces she didn't recognize possibly of people long since gone from the group. She noticed one of the men in some desert adorned in camo with guns slung over their shoulders or held in their hands. These weren't just some friends, this was a team. In the middle was a young face, even a little younger then herself.

"Afghanistan."

Brass jumped out of her skin, knocking over a few shot glasses in the process. "Sorry, sorry! My bad, I u-uh.."

Barney's face was thoughtful, hard and dark but she couldn't see a trace of anger. They stared at each other for what seemed like ages before the silence was broken.

"Look whose ready to rumble!" Hale called out as he entered the back of the garage, Gunnar and Lee in toe. "Have you seen it yet?"

"Uh.." She looked back to Barney but he was already looking away and smiling at the guys, as if the moment never happened, "I have not."

"Well let's go then!"

* * *

The door was difficult to open, scraping long and hard against the cement floor while kicking up months of dust into the air. Beyond it lay a dark room only lit by the sun filtering through old dust covered windows. Everything had an ancient look and smell. Someone went for the light switch but nothing turned on, burnt out from lack of use. "Hmm.. That'll need to get fixed."

Although dark and dank Brass felt nothing but awe and excitement. The walls had old boxing photos of the greats, as well as some more team shots. "Well…it certainly needs a little TLC, but nothing a little elbow grease can't fix!" Brass tried her best to contain her excitement, but she was sure her voice betrayed her.

Barney began throwing around orders like it was a regular mission, "Mops in the corner, boys get a bucket it's time to get to work."

"Call me when its ready," Lee muttered, dodging the gripes from his buddies as he waltzed back out of the room.

* * *

A couple hours later and the place looked a couple years younger. Everything still had some good wear and tear to the edges but that just gave it more character. Brass sunk to the floor breathing heavily, "I think I already finished my work out."

The boys laughed breathlessly, agreeing silently. The room was humid and her skin moist with a thin layer of sweat before the real hard work had even begun.

"So what's first Brass?" Gunnar asked.

Brass hesitated, glancing around the room at all it had to offer, "I think I'll just 'warm up' with some bag work."

"Or you could fight me."

Lee had returned, dressed and ready to fight. The men called out in awe at his statement, while Hale added, "That's a challenge Brass, you gonna take it?"

"Sure, I mean, why not, its not like we didn't do all the hard work for Nancy boy to just stroll in." Again the group lit up in 'oo's and awe's at her attitude, all the while Brass raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously, clearly pushing him back.

"Now that's a real challenge." Hale pointed out.

"Barney, get the bell ready—shit's about to go down!" Gunnar howled, in pure Viking fashion as he galloped out of the room.

A few minutes later Lee crawled between the ropes of the ring, dressed in a black muscle shirt and some loose grey sweats. Up until this point he'd always been modestly clothed and left Brass to her own thoughts and assumptions, but now that she could see most of him for what he was there was no denying it. _He's cut_, she thought, attempting to keep her composer and not let her expression betray her.

"Ready?" Gunnar asked. Both fighters raised their gloves to their faces in a prepared fighting stance, a silent acquiescence. Eagerly seconds began to feel like minutes as the anticipation for the bell slowly became too much to handle.

Suddenly Hale called out from the corner and both fighters recoiled like a gun firing, "We need some tunes, otherwise what's the point?"

Moments later some good ol' 80's house of hair music was playing in the background, Hale was strutting his stuff finding it impossible to remain still, and Brass and Lee were back to facing off in anticipation of the bell.

Hale leaned against the ropes, a serious look on his face (probably the first she had seen), "You're gonna wanna hang back Brass, gauge his abilities, and keep a strong defense."

"Thanks Caesar but I think I got this."

Then just like that the buzzer went and both fighters lunged.

Brass had already decided her chances were slim if she were to go head on. He had more muscle, was taller and therefore his reach was much further. She had to be spry, get low and come in fast and get out even faster. He threw the first blow, overconfidently, and she had to admit, slightly showing off. Easily she sidestepped, dropped to a lunge, and came in with a quick upper cut just below the solar plexus.

He coughed slightly and stepped away, his look was one of confusion. Brass could almost swear there was even a bit of respect in his gaze as he settled back into his stance. If she were going to keep a cool head she would have to ignore the commotion from around the ring. Tool and Barney had joined the small group of spectators. Having them watch made her feel like she had something to prove. _Don't let them get into your head._

Brass faked a lunge and sure enough he went for it, coming in with a cross and leaving his whole side open. Thinking she had the perfect chance she lunged for real this time and came in with a hook to his ribs. Right before landing it however she felt Lee's arms grab around her back until his hands connected at her stomach. This was certainly not boxing. She struggled for a while, pulling back and forth, trying to shove off him and escape his grasp.

She could hear him chuckling, in his raspy quiet way, and it was beginning to feel embarrassing. Taking a deep breath she stopped fighting it and settled her body and mind. From the sides of the ring she could hear Hale and Gunnar calling out to her to fight, Tool was making fun of Lee for doing a clearly illegal move and she heard nothing from Barney. She twisted around slightly in his grasp, giving herself just enough space too look up from under her arms and lock eyes with Barney. He did a short nod, a silent affirmation that she could do this. Before thinking too hard on why he would think that of her, she dropped her weight. The moment her knees bent and her center of gravity plummeted a few inches she could feel Lee begin to lose balance. In a quick movement she removed her hands from shoving against his abs, (_and boy did they feel nice)_ and sunk her weight into him now, really throwing him off. Before he could regain his balance she grabbed the back of his knee and pulled in-tossing him onto his ass. However, she wasn't done. She jumped forward, mounting him and began sending a flurry of punches towards his face, none of them hitting physically, but definitely hitting him mentally. His pride was slightly bruised as she began laughing, celebrating her victory before the match was even called.

The crew were hooting and hollering, fists flying high into the air, "Thatta' girl!"

"You think you won?" He huffed.

She was too busy cheering in the air and laughing at Hale and his victory dance that she had almost completely forgotten she was sitting on him. His words cut through the loud cheering, and her eyes met with his. Surprisingly, he was smiling.

"What's so funny?"

"I think I'm the one who won, if you ask me." He winked. For a split second she was appalled but to hear levity in his voice for a change, the fact alone that he was joking with her, was too refreshing to pass up.

"Ass." She muttered giving him a hard punch to the gut before rising to her feet.

"Round 2?" He coughed.

"Sure, " she turned back towards him as he sat up and leaned back on his hands, "but for the record…"

Brass had a sultry look to her all of a sudden. He watched, unabashedly, the sweat dripping down her neck, her messy hair coiling around her face and shoulders, the way she licked her lips and her piercing green eyes shot straight through him, "if you done seem real work and helped us clean up the place, you might've had a better chance of beating me. " And with that she playfully shoved him onto his back again.

"Round 2, round 2, round 2!" They chanted around the room.

"This time no illegal moves Lee," Brass added.

"Why not? Clearly you know what you're doing."

Her eyes flashed to Barney and then back to Lee. "Just shut up and box."

By the end he had beat her a couple times, and at one point she had beat him by points but she certainly didn't feel like she earned it. It was tough, but she sensed after their first match that he was finally going full strength on her. She didn't mind losing if it truly meant he was the better fighter, it gave her a personal challenge, something to work on. By the end the camaraderie between the two of them was comfortable, and he even began giving her pointers. His tone was always respectful, sometimes playful, but he never verbally doubted her abilities or strength. She dared to admit to herself that she might actually be enjoying his company. _You know...past the whole gorgeous aspect of course._

They cleaned up their stuff and the group bustled out leaving just the two of them behind.

"Great session." His tone was clipped and rigid, the way it had been the first night she met him.

She wanted to ask why the sudden change but the words caught in her throat so instead she studied his body language. He was tense, almost uncomfortable, never turning towards her.

"Yea. You too." With that she walked quickly past him never looking back. How their proximity and sudden aloneness could change their friendship they had (literally) worked so hard to build that day, was beyond her. _You're just here to train. Hale likes you, Gunnar, Yang, Tool… maybe even Barney too. You can't win them all Brass._

* * *

A few days later Barney was back to working on his truck. Very few people had come into the shop in the last couple days, and although he enjoyed the work it was nice to focus on his own baby. Silently his thoughts were muddled, and like true Ross fashion he hadn't mentioned it to anyone.

Brass had been there a couple hours a day just training and sometimes just to shoot the shit with the boys. Everyone seemed in better spirits with her around, they were forgetting the darkness in their true natures for a small fraction of the day.

He wondered if he should regret inviting Brass over, even letting her train. The boys were falling for her in their own ways; as a sister, a friend, even a relationship counselor at times. He couldn't blame them either, she was likeable, especially out of her shell now that she was comfortable around them. Rarely did they have a woman around, but it was for good reason. Someone always fell too hard, too far, and with the kind of work they did, no question-it was a bad idea.

Sure they had all had their little relationships outside of the game before, but rarely did the rest of the crew ever meet these significant others. Bring them too close to the crew and the questions started to fly, "What do you do for a living, really? How long will you be gone?" Then, when stress became to much, when the relationship was past the point of being strained, came the hardest statement to bare, "This is too much for me, I'm tired of worrying if this will be the day you don't make it home."

He sighed heavily, he knew it, they all could see it, Lee was acting way to bizarre around the girl. Clearly he was well on the road to being too far gone. But was that such a bad thing? It was too early to tell if they would even be a good match.

"I know that look." Tool piped up, scaring the day lights out of Barney. Throwing the wrench across the room in anger Barney barked, "God damn it Tool."

"Whoa, chill. Cool your roll, no anger here my brother." Tool casually leaned against the tool bench. "Mind telling me what you got going on in that mind of yers?"

"Not now Tool, I like keeping it in my head, its quiet there without anyone asking questions and demanding answers."

"Sure. For now. But sooner or later you gotta lean on someone, who better then your brother?"

"Look I'm a little worried about this situation."

"With Lee and Brass?" Barney was flabbergasted, but he had to be honest with himself, it wasn't actually that difficult to tell.

"Sooner or later you gotta let your angels go Charlie, especially Christmas. He's a good man, and he's sacrificed a lot for this group. Everyone deserves a little happiness."

Barney didn't like the look he was getting from the old artist and ex-mercenary, "What?"

"You need to stop focusing on them, they'll make their own judgments, opinions, choices, and fuck up doing it too—you need to start worrying about yourself Barney. You're included in that little happiness everyone deserves."

Barney smiled half heartedly, "Come on, don't go getting all soft on me Tool, you're really pushing the boundaries of this relationship."

"You want some tough love, the real shit?" Tool asked with open arms, "It's only been a week, a little more then that. You're taking this shit to seriously man. Its just a woman, she's great, the guys like her, they're having a good time around her. But trust, when its time for the job, they'll be there and ready to commit."

"The job?"

"Ya you heard right," Tool winked, a proud smile on his face, "I got you a good one, short and sweet, should only take 2 weeks and has a nice pay load. I'll get the file." Tool turned just in time to see Brass step into the garage, "Well hey sugar, back for more? You aren't played out yet?"

"Hah, very funny. I actually just wanted to talk to Barney for a minute… but you should probably stay too."

Tool and Barney shared a look of worry, "What is it Brass?"

"Well… I found something… in my apartment. I have to admit-I looked through it. I had to, I mean, what else was I supposed to do?" She looked down at her feet, her hands behind her back clearly withholding something.

"Brass." Barney stepped in front of her, his frame towering over her as well as his stare.

"Right." She looked up into his eyes, fear depleting, "I think you should have it, it's from the tenant before me, your friend."

She handed over an old bulging folder barely being held together by string. "Chao said he's only ever had one tenant before me, and that man was named Billy."

Immediately Barney marched towards his tool bench and whipped the folder open, ripping the string from its cover. Inside were documents upon documents stamped with classified, pictures of different men, all looking like hardened criminals. One man stood out, with more then a dozen photos of him in different settings and dirty dealings. Clearly the king pin of whatever group Billy had been closing in on. But why? What was he chasing, and why was it so important to keep it from all of them?


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all for the reviews, I truly appreciate it and am super glad people are enjoying this :). My apologies for the long wait for this chapter, I went on a trip and have been busy nonstop but I couldn't stop thinking about this story in the meantime. Originally this chapter was incredibly long but I decided to break it up in a bit of a two parter, so the next chapter should be out sometime this week as well. Anyway happy reading, please review and let me know what you think if you can.

* * *

Barney walked through the upper rooms of the shop, weaving through the hallways of training rooms, equipment rooms, even small back rooms furnished with little kitchenettes, bathrooms and bedrooms like a mini motel. It had been home to many of the team over the years through hard times and Barney had always left his door open to them.

In the weapons room the rest of the crew stood solemnly around a huge metal workbench. They all carried the look of a man waiting for the worst possible news, and Ross couldn't help but feel it too. They believed their fallen comrade to be avenged, and although they all hurt deep down for his death they had at least felt a semblance of justice has been achieved. Perhaps not.

"Listen up." Ross growled, unable to control the anger raging deep inside. "We have Intel that Billy was on to something, working a personal vendetta against a man known as the 'Reptile.' Seems he's been behind a lot of arms dealing that have led to some pretty catastrophic events. As of the last few years he started to change his game, finding new ways to make even more money. According to this…" He threw the bulging folder onto the table, its edges so worn that its contents spewed out across the metal top.

One thing could be seen easily however, Jean Vilain.

"Vilain?" Toll piped up, while the rest stayed silent, saving their comments to themselves for now.

"Apparently." Ross shifted his weight, his hands holding onto his belt, his arms flexed with control as he fought to consider what to say next. "The Reptile began working with Vilain, not only was he selling arms to both sides of a war, but he was stealing behind their backs. Gaining more and more of their trust and finding out just what resources their land was sitting on, and then reaping the benefits. He was behind the plutonium gig. I can't figure out when it's all started, or just how much he's been involved in, but one things for sure, you'll find his name in many of the missions we've been on."

Surprise filtered through the team, landing at Christmas, "What does this have to do with Billy, really?"

"Seems his team wasn't just caught in the kill zone, they were ambushed completely. The hadjis were never supposed to have that kind of artillery, not at the little village they were watching. Seems the Reptile had a stake in just how much oil he could make in his involvement, on both sides of the fence. It ended in an all out blood bath, but another one that never hit the news because the blame was on both sides. They're crew was expendable, and they picked them off one by one."

"Seems Billy joined up because it was the one thing he was great at, needed the money, but most importantly, was hunting down the Reptile."

"Well who is he, in all of these pictures?"

Barney shrugged, wiping the sweat from his brow, "We don't know, we got no face, no real name just an alias. We do know that he's Russian, but deals frequently all over Europe."

"Where did you get all this Barney?"

_A loaded question, _Barney closed his eyes, "Brass."

Instantly the once quiet room erupted into questions.

"Would everybody calm the _fuck _down?" his deep voice rumbled as he leaned his weight onto his hands, hunched over with the burden all of this new information. "She was unpacking, moving things around, found it in a wall apparently."

"A wall? Really? We gonna believe that?" Toll accused, always the first to jump to conclusions.

"Yes, we are. She showed me the wall, said she was hanging a picture frame and the nail popped right through the wall. She found the seam of the wall and opened up a small crawl space where the documents all were. These buildings are old, it's not uncommon."

"Did she read it?" Christmas questioned.

"She admitted to reading through it, even searching what she could online. She's been very forthcoming with what she's discovered, but as far as civilians go she doesn't know much beyond Google and the news."

They all nodded, agreeing to let it go for now. "What's the next step?"

"Nothing."

Again the crew was in an uproar. Various comments and profanity before Barney barked and they all settled down as best as a room full of oversized angry men could. "Nothing…_yet_. We got a gig in a few days. It was supposed to be sooner, but in light of this new information we negotiated an extension. Luckily this mission isn't time sensitive. What is good about it is it takes place in Bulgaria. While we're there we'll dig for more information on this Reptile character, and what happened a year ago."

* * *

Brass sat at her computer attempting to plug away at work but she couldn't concentrate. Since giving Barney that folder she was told not to come around for a while, he'd let her know when she could come back and train as soon as possible but it had been almost 48 hours since she'd heard from any of them. The huge metal doors had remained shut, and unless they entered in at night, she had seen no one coming or going. Whatever she had given them was big and meant a lot to them.

Her cell lit up and she grumbled at the thought of it being her boss. She didn't want to have to report about the work she had done, or lack there of. Grabbing it she failed miserably to hide the disdain in her voice, not very professional of her, "Hello?"

"Well hello there, you sound very happy to hear from me." Came a thick and deep British reply.

Her heart jumped at the sound, but her fist hit her desk in annoyance with her childish reaction, "Sorry, I thought it was someone else. How did you get this number?"

"Let's not dwell on specifics. Are you free tonight?"

Now she had a lump in her throat, was this really happening to her? Never in a million years did something this good work out in her favor. Usually the charming man went for a friend, or was already taken, and was only being polite.

He was more then a pretty face and muscular body. He walked with grace, an ease and assurance to his step. The way he smiled only when it was needed, and laughed that deep murmuring chuckle, or when she was even lucky enough to hear him laugh from every fiber in his body in the greatest belly laugh she'd heard.

The way he reacted when presented with a challenge, a grin on his face and a feverish look in his eyes. Be it throwing darts at the board or boxing with her and the others in the gym, he had always come alive in these moments.

He'd treat her well, make jokes, and give her pointers on her techniques. When training with her he'd linger by her side, stand a little to close, whisper with his raspy deep lilt in her ear. He looked at her with appreciation, respect and sometimes-even lust from what she could tell—at least when he thought she wouldn't notice.

But the moment they were alone and he had only her to deal with it would all change. _You're right, too good to be true_, "Yea, why?"

"Always cutting right to the chase. I like that." A brief chuckle resonated through her from the receiver.

With a small gulp she waited patiently, but it didn't take long for him to add, "Rosko's 8 o'clock."

* * *

After an hour of fighting with her wardrobe she settled on a dark maroon maxi dress, drawing out her deep bronze skin. The u-shaped neck showed just enough cleavage as her gold dainty necklace fell just enough down her collarbone to accentuate it even more. The dress had a slit up on either side accentuated the wideness of her hips, her thick and muscular legs and waist. Most would've told her not to wear it as it would draw attention to her curves, but she rather enjoyed that aspect of it—she was never shy about her muscular and curvy frame. Her hair was tousled, wavy and full of 'I woke up like this' not to be confused with the reality of it which was 'this took me an hour, and I still hate it'.

She gave one last longing look out her back window at the garage across the back lane only to be surprised at finding the door open, lights on, music drifting quietly from its depths and a few shadows. Her heart caught in her throat, a feeling of rejection washing over her. Immediately she brushed it off, she had barely walked into their lives and she was already upset at a lack of invitation one night. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she decided it would be harmless to reach out to Barney tomorrow.

Deciding to give the men space she walked down to the laundry mat from the front entrance of her apartment. Chao was reading a newspaper at the front desk but immediately put it down and stared agape at her over the rim of his glasses, "Wow miss, you look beautiful! Date?"

Brass couldn't help but smile, "I think so."

She felt ridiculous smiling, but it had been so long since she last dated, _would it be so wrong to enjoy it a little?_

She waved goodbye and headed out the front to wave down a taxi, the jitters setting into her gut. _Stay strong, its just dinner, its just dinner, its just…_

The aroma of Italy and pasta was in the air, and the place was bustling with conversation and laughter. Over the sounds of chitchat was the sweet sound of Italian music. She bit her lip at the daunting task of finding him in such a busy place but it didn't take long.

Next to the bar stood Lee, leaning against it in a crisp black t-shirt and grey faded jeans that sat just right. He was leaning on his arms, back to her; giving her the greatest display of tricep cuts and backs muscles pressing through the cotton of his tee. She found herself biting her lip again, this time for a different reason. With a sigh she murmured to herself, "God damn you Lee."

As if he heard her, he glanced over his shoulder and her breath caught in her throat. _Am I seriously nervous right now?_ His glance was fleeting though, and he nodded towards a table to the right of them.

It stung. He barely looked her up and down, and not a glimmer of 'wow' to be seen across his eyes. She had left her apartment feeling pretty confident and beautiful and now she found herself feeling naked and vulnerable.

She licked her lips and quickly fixed her hair while he wasn't looking before gliding into the booth across from him, "So, how are you?"

"We need to talk" was all he said, his eyes were serious, even had a hint of pity in them.

"What?" Brass was dumbfounded and though, _did I miss something?_

Before he could go on the waiter showed up with some wine, which she gratefully took but Lee waved it away for a beer instead. "Look the boys want to know how much you know."

"So… that's why you brought me here?" Her face fell, and any composure she was holding tightly inside had unwound.

"What other reason would there be?"

Her shoulders fell in defeat, but only for a moment before she raised her head in defiance, her chest filling with pride and her shoulders were back and firm.

He looked at her confusedly, "Brass, you got something you'd like to say?"

"Go on."

He didn't seem convinced, but heeded her tone none the less, "Look what you found was highly classified, we just want to know how much you know, how much digging around you did on that computer of yours."

"None. If its classified how much could a little graphic designer like me find?" Her tongue cut sharp, her lips frothing with verbal venom in every tone, yet hidden behind a sultry and confident smile.

"We need to know if we can trust you,"

"Are you going to share more information with me?"

His brow furrowed, "Of course not."

"Then what does trust have to do with any of this?"

"Fine." His words began to bite back, "I also brought you here to tell you that we'll be gone for a while, a week maybe longer, so don't bother poking around the garage looking for us, or nosing about. Tool will be keeping an eye on the place for Barney and we don't take kind to people in our business."

"The crew, or you?" Her arms were crossed now.

"Look if there's something you need to say, the floor is all yours." He leaned back, staring her down.

"Alright, I have something to say." This time she leaned forward, her eyes burning with a fire he'd only seen from her once before-when they boxed, "Next time you want to chat about useless things give me a call, leave me a message, let me know how useless its all going to be."

Now she was rising to her feet, both hands propped on the table and as she leaned forward even more, her face drawing closer to his and she smiled even bigger, her eyes playful and her tone quiet but commanding. "You don't tell a woman that you want to meet her and pick a nice restaurant. What you don't do is lead a woman on. What you don't do is act all suave, handsome, and charming one minute and then a complete dick the next."

The tables around them were starting to turn around, glaring daggers at Lee. She whipped her wine glass off the table and downed it instantly before slamming it back down.

"Wait you thought this was a date?" He chuckled and raised to his feet, leaning forward on his arms now and getting closer to her, the embarrassment clear in his body language, "Apologies miss, I didn't take you for one of those little girls looking for a boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? Hah. I don't need a boyfriend Lee. I need a champion." With that she turned on her heels, yanking the bottle of wine out of the ice bucket and nodding towards the waiter, "I'm taking this, don't worry, my 'champion' has the bill."

* * *

Short and sweet, and I know this probably didn't go exactly how most of you wanted, so hold out for the next one ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Should be in bed, but I had to get this finished up and online. I'm exhausted (no excuses) so apologies if the wording may be wrong, grammar and spelling as well. Warning... creeping towards lemon standards.

*kubaton is a small but incredibly useful weapon and self defense tool that can hang inconspicuously from a set of keys, or any keychain or object you have on you at all times, very practical.

* * *

With a head start she had managed to make it all the way home without a single appearance of the rude Brit and his loud motorcycle, but to her dismay she wasn't fast enough to beat Chao. The laundry mat was closed, forcing her to walk all the way around, and undoubtedly passing the garage. With her luck they'd all be sitting around just in time to see her waltz pass with a mostly polished off wine bottle and revealing enough outfit to let them jump to conclusions. Unless Lee had already told them…

_Then would they be laughing at me as well?_

She admitted mentally that at this point she's had a little too much of the wine. She knew walking around to the front of the garage and entering through a different entrance was wrong. She knew slipping into the gym was also just as bad, but her will to pound a bag in and imagine it was someone's face was out of her control, even if a small piece of her mind was telling her not to.

Brass glanced around the corner and noticed how the music was still going, the door of the garage was open, but Tool had fallen asleep in his chair on the far side of the room. Everyone else had gone, and she was sure Tool would never hear her and so she crept a few feet towards the gym door.

* * *

Barney was in the weapons room, setting up a few last minute things before they left mid day tomorrow. The plan had been sorted, and the men were all ready mentally and physically for the task.

The job itself was simple, escort a high ranking officials daughter from point A to point B. Truth be told they would never typically do a job like this. It was a case of a semi powerful, incredibly rich man worried about his priceless daughter getting in the hands of money hungry men—which more so meant some semi powerful, incredibly rich man thinking everyone wanted what he had meanwhile they never did. It would be a smooth ride, and if it weren't for the hefty payload he was willing to pay they would still be sipping beers in the bike room.

That … and of course the location.

They were escorting her in caravan formation through Bulgaria, the location of their first and unforgettable meeting with Vilain. The day he killed Billy.

With that memory Barney snapped his gun into place, primed and ready for use on whatever henchmen he could find while they were there, or the Reptile if they prayed on a miracle.

Just as he placed the gun into the large canvas bag a soft sound caught his attention, _someone was in the building_. With a snarl and murmur of insolence on Tools part Barney took off down the stairs gun in hand.

* * *

Brass had started off small, some quick jabs while she tore the situation apart in her head, or out loud in a quiet murmur to herself. By the time she got to the meat and potatoes of the evening she was throwing her right in with a force that could only be driven by anger.

Suddenly the gym door groaned and creaked as it swung with full force into the wall. She jumped from the bag and turned her fight stance towards the door, ready to take on whatever opponent came her way. But in the doorway stood Barney, gun pointed and ready.

"Holy shit Ross, its me, Brass!" She thrust her gloves into the air as surrender.

"Holy shit me? Holy shit you, what are you doing in here this late?"

"I don't want to talk about it" and with that she went back to hitting the bag.

Before Barney could reply the realization of what she was wearing hit him. She looked all dolled up, beautiful dress, tousled hair, long earrings and chain. She was a sight for sore eyes, until you took in the bag gloves, boxing, and 3 quarters empty wine bottle.

"Are you drunk?"

"No!" She gave him a look that could kill before delivering her last right, straight through the bag sending it flying back a foot.

"Sure looks like it to me." He couldn't help but smirk, she'd never lost control since the moment they had met and even now that her apprehensions were mostly out of the window she was still in control of the situation.

"I'll admit, I've had a lot to drink but do you seriously think I could have that kind of form while I'm drunk…" She trailed off as she tossed her bag gloves to the side. Her face was grim while thoughts danced across her eyes.

"I think you should go home Brass, get some rest. And if you really want some advice, don't beat up yourself, or this bag, over whatever idiot has got you all bent out of shape. Because clearly he didn't see what I'm seeing."

"And what's that?"

"One helluva a woman."

Brass smiled genuinely, wiping some sweat from her brow with a hand towel. "Thanks Barney."

She spun on her heal just as she past him, head held high and shoulders strong, "You leave tomorrow?"

He nodded without a remark in return. "I may not completely understand what you all do for a living but… be careful."

Again he replied with only a short nod and a smile. Brass only got a few more feet before she spun around again, "Oh but Barney? If you don't come back in one piece…can I still use the gym?"

With that he burst into a strong laugh, the sound reverberating nicely off the walls, enough to break Tool from his slumber.

* * *

He'd hung back at the restaurant to pay for the bill and smooth things over with Rosko. As a typical Italian man he didn't appreciate his friend mistreating his female guest, regardless of having not seen what actually happened. It took a lot of smooth talking before Lee could actually leave and head home. He made it a few blocks before hearing his cell go off. Much as he would like to he couldn't risk not answering it as it could be Barney with intel on the mission, or worse Brass with more to dish out on him.

He took a deep breath before answering, not daring to look at the call display. He had to admit however that his reluctance to hear from Brass was not for what she may have to say, but for the guilt he was feeling. Lee was normally good with women, having dated a fair number in his time. He had always been open with his feelings, and despite his job had no problem committing what he could of his life to a long-term relationship.

Yet for some reason he was constantly screwing up around Brass. He wasn't even sure if he liked the idea that tonight could have been a date or not, he hadn't allowed himself to think about her in that way let alone look at her in that way. That was no excuse for his actions but… _I hate apologizing._

"Yea?" He said gruffly, in an attempt to hide any shame he may have.

"Hey Christmas." It was Barney. Lee sighed in relief, "Everything okay?"

"Well… for tomorrow – yea everything is good. For tonight, mm not so much."

"What happened?" Lee stood off his bike and placed it in park, a hand grazing over his scalp in an anxious gesture.

"Well you see I had the pleasure of seeing Brass tonight, boxing with an almost empty bottle of wine. Now as troubling as it is, I can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that she looked smokin' hot and yet was upset because some jackass was being well – a jackass." Lee sighed again now, _damn Italians._

"Yea I know Ross, I fucked up."

"Ya damn right you did, now fix it before we leave tomorrow – last thing I need is drama." His tone, although stern, wasn't overly upset and had actually made Lee smile to himself, _well…shit, boxing? Really Brass?_

* * *

Brass was sitting in a corner of her couch; legs sprawled out across the seats. She wanted to be comfortable, devoid of anything moderately fancy, watching something to take her mind off the night and stuffing god knows what carb heavy food into her mouth. The result was a loose hanging muscle shirt, black underwear and lemon sorbet. As lonely as living away from anything she knew or grew up with she had to admit it had its perks.

Like sitting around in practically your underwear, gorging on Galati and watching scary movies, although she was quickly rethinking the scary movie part.

Usually they made her feel better, scared her till she laughed and then she'd slowly forget her trouble but this one was probably the scariest she had seen in a while. Her apartment, Chao had informed her, was sound proof and lucky that was true because she was screaming constantly and hiding in a pillow the majority of the time. It had gotten so bad she had to put her sorbet down because she had dropped a spoon full down her chest. _Classy._

The movie was hitting its climax, and the jump scares were at full bore. Brass found herself moaning softly into the pillow as if she was crying for it to end. Suddenly the door to her apartment, only a few feet away, let out a creak. She stared at it, unmoving and unfaltering. _It only ever does that if someone is coming up the stairs._

Shooting a glance at the clock on the player below the TV she realized it was too late for visitors. Her timing was perfect, but not in her favor, for at that moment the antagonist of the film, a pale-faced longhaired demonic spirit of a woman, thrust her face towards the camera and straight at the viewer. Without her pillow in place to shield it she let out an uncontrollable scream.

In a matter of seconds her door burst open sending her over the edge, literally, she crawled backwards over the arm of the couch till she fell flat on her back. It had all happened so fast.

When she landed a groan escaped her lips like a hiss and she scrambled up instantly and jumped for the kubaton* that sat connected to her keys on the coffee table. Within in a moment she had armed herself and risen to her feet poised and ready to find…

Lee.

He was out of breath, distraught and also completely caught off guard by her appearance.

"What. The. _FUCK."_ Brass enunciated every word with as much surprise as there was anger.

"Are you okay? I heard screams." His voice was louder then its typical rasp, his accent growing thicker with anxiety.

"I was watching a bloody movie you heathen!" she reached down and plucked up a pillow, sending it flying right at him, "What the hell are you doing here, and what the hell is your problem?"

"I heard a scream, what the hell do you expect me to do?"

They both stopped yelling at each other, breathing heavily from the adrenalin pumping through their veins. After a moment of silence both their anger dissipated and a slow nervous laugh picked up.

Lee turned around and examined the fairly broken door. It needed a new handle, and a couple dead bolt locks, but it wouldn't take long, "I came to apologize." He stated, barely over a whisper.

"For the door? What good timing. Has anyone ever told you you're a tank?" The sarcasm was thick, but there was an ounce of awe and respect in her revelation.

"No, well yes, I apologize for that too. I'll fix it in the morning I promise. But I came to apologize for earlier." His gaze was low, showing his inexperience with apologies. While he waited for a response he stepped closer and closer towards her till her was staring down at her and her big green eyes stared back intensely.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms to rest on her hips. With that the disapproval in her voice dissipated, "I can't agree with your intimidation tactic bursting through my door demanding to be forgiven but… I suppose I can hear you out."

"Good." His voice was low, just enough for her to hear, "But first, could you put some clothes on?"

"Sweet Jesus Christmas, you burst through my door demanding to apologize and now you dictate what I wear?" Her words cut but her face carried a mischievous smile.

Brass walked swiftly back to her room to grab a robe, but the only one she owned was a small kimono style one. It would have to do, _its not like the dress I wore had any effect on him, what does it matter?_

Lee waited patiently in the living room, trying to erase the memory of her standing before him poised, flexed and ready to fight. Her anger and precision made it hard not to be aroused, and her outfit nearly pushed him over the edge. Heaven forbid she give him the chance to recover from seeing her in that tight curve fitting dress from earlier before dealing him a whole other arousing scenario. "God damn you Brass." He muttered, a sly grin forming on his face.

Of course the moment he recalled the way she slide over the arm of the chair and landed like a sack of bricks, the groan and brief obscenities muttered, he was instantly in silent stitches. He cleared his throat and coughed to cover up his minor outburst, "What the hell are you watching anyway?" He asked as he stared nearly horrified by the strange movie playing on the TV.

"Some foreign horror on Netflix," She stated from the door from of the hallway. Her quick remark and sudden proximity made him jump slightly, "Now look who's jumpy."

He licked his lips at the view he was getting now. Although more covered up then before, the robe hugged just right and was just short enough he could get full view of her thick long legs. _Keep it together; you came to apologize, not to stir up trouble._

"I would come back another time, but we leave tomorrow, and it wouldn't sit right with me ending things like we did."

"Fine, but I'm still watching my movie." She sat back down on the couch, sprawling out again and leaving no room for him.

"May I?" He asked sarcastically. She raised her legs in the air, her eyes unwavering from the TV, until he sat down and then she lowered them onto his lap.

Lee sat rigid and hesitant with his hands in the air unsure of where to put them other then on her, and he knew that wasn't such a good idea. He cleared his throat as if to raise the issue to her attention but she could care less from what he noticed. He settled with placing his arms outstretched across the back of the couch.

She had always given him a hint of attitude, and was never shy from speaking her mind but he had never seen her so comfortable in her own skin. Perhaps that was the wine.

"Well?" She asked, finally averting her gaze.

"Look, I'm normally much better at this whole…thing. I'm not normally this insensitive, crude or difficult."

"True story?" She asked sarcastically.

"Yes…" He looked at her hard hoping she would this seriously. "This matter with Billy is important to me, important to all of us."

She kicked her legs off of him and rose up face to face. "Spoiler alert Christmas, you were like this before I gave you guys that ridiculous folder."

It suddenly occurred to him she had never call him Christmas before tonight, and since the diner she hadn't called him Lee once. Although she was treating the situation like it was all very cavalier he knew there was still something off.

"You're right." Lee finally gave in, "I'm a jackass."

"Finally, you're making sense."

With that she laid back down to watch the movie, her legs back on his lap. "I accept your apology Lee. Friends?"

His name sounded nice on her soft lips, and the relief of her saying it felt even better "Friends." He agreed.

Although the situation seemed to be over it felt right to stay and watch the movie. Every once and awhile he'd catch himself watching her. At first she was very intent on the movie but as time progressed, and the movie got closer and closer to the conclusion, her eyes began to blink slower, until she drifted off to sleep.

He dropped a hand to her leg to pry them off of his lap, but at the touch of her soft silky skin he stopped. Slowly and lightly he let his hands trace up and down her calf. His fleeting touch kicked up the wonderful scent of sandalwood on her skin. The scent and the feel of her skin caused a knot in his gut to start and his calloused fingers burned at the touch.

Something clattered loudly in the movie and it woke Brass with a start. She was sitting straight up staring inches away from his face with confusion in fear as her hand knotted and gripped his sleeve tightly. Lee couldn't help but laugh, "You're alright, " he assured her.

But her look didn't soften; it turned into one of determination and resolve. She could feel his hand resting on her thigh; the other hand had snaked around to the small of her back for support when she had jumped at the sound. Maybe it was the wine in her system; maybe it was their close proximity, but she went in for the kiss.

The kiss was light and quick, and the room was silent as the movies credits slowly danced up the screen. Licking her lips as she pulled back she searched his eyes for a sign.

Her lips parted as a question hung on her tongue but before she could utter it his lips crashed into hers. His ferocity was intense, and they quickly became a tangle of limbs and feverish kisses as she fell to her back and his large powerful frame crashed into her.

His tongue demanded entrance and she gladly accepted, experiencing every taste and every technique as he explored their kiss. Lee gruffly tugged open her robe and then traced his hands around to her backside grabbing her roughly and hoisted her closer to him. Brass pulled away with a gasp and slapped a hand to his chest, "Hey, don't get the wrong idea…" she uttered between gasps, "I'm still mad at you."

He laughed roguishly and one of his hand swept around her hip to the front of her underwear, sliding down over the fabric and applying just enough pressure to arch her back and push her chest into him involuntarily. "I can tell."

She bucked, her lips crashing against his again only this time she bit his lower lip and gave a small tug. He hissed and groaned at the painful pleasure. "Watch yourself Lee."

And then Lee's cellphone began to ring.

"You going to get that?" Brass asked.

Lee looked up from feverishly laying kisses on the curve of her neck, "It can wait." He went back down into her neck, licking her earlobe, sucking and even biting just enough to make her writhe underneath him in taunting pleasure. Brass explored his back and chest with her hands, kneading and messaging every inch of muscle she could find beneath his t-shirt.

Again the phone went off.

"Lee." She moaned.

"Mmm." He replied slipping down her collarbone and getting close and closer to her black bra the hint of lemon on his tongue.

And again it rang.

"Lee." She said more forcefully now, shoving both hands on his chest and away from her body.

"Shite, alright alright." He moved off of her and quickly reached into his pocket for his phone.

"It's a text…" he opened up his inbox to find a couple from Barney, "Bollucks. We're leaving even earlier now."

Brass sighed and kicked back from his lap till her back rested in the corner of the couch, " I know I know, early morning, gotta leave, you're such a jackass." She teased.

"How come you taste like lemon?"

Although already a feverish red from their encounter, her cheeks blushed even more, "I'm not saying I accidentally dropped lemon sorbet down my shirt, but I'm not _not_ saying that."

"Classy." He winked with a sly grin.

She laughed embarrassedly and saw him to the door; assuring him many times she would barricade herself in and be on the ready for any ancient spirits or home invaders. When he was finally, at least moderately, reassured he left and she placed a tilted chair under the broken doorknob.

Leaning against the wall she touched her mouth revelling in the burning sensation that tingled through them. The sensation was like molten lava, course through her veins and sitting heavy and hungry in her gut. Slightly pissed at him leaving her in such a state she moaned softly at the heat still resonating nearly untouched between her legs. "God damn you Lee."


	6. Chapter 6

Whose seen the new movie?! I have! PM me and let me know your thoughts, no spoilers in the reviews please. And let me know what you think of this chapter ;)

* * *

There was a hard knock at the door, stirring Brass from her rather deep slumber. It took seconds for last night's events to jog her memory. The joy of it was fleeting before nerves and anxiety kicked in. _What the hell was I thinking? I was a drunken mess, oh my god I… I… I boxed drunk in front of Barney? And then Lee…_

Her face was a deep shade of red as she plunged it into a pillow and mumbled any last words she had. It was after her stomach finally settled that the sound of the knocking was brought to her attention again. She called down the hall, as she not so gracefully tried to slip something decent on.

"Its me." Came an almost unrecognized muffle from the other side of the door. As much as his accent and raspy tongue made her legs weak, she had to admit he was hard to understand sometimes, a lot like Barney as well.

She opened the door with a huge smile, trying her best to cover the embarrassment screaming out in her ears. But his smile was warm, if not a little nervous as well. "I have that door handle for you."

He was dressed in cargo pants, military grade boots, a tight black shirt and the look in his eyes of a man on a mission. She touched her lips briefly in the awkward silence that followed before asking, "Do you want coffee? Have you had breakfast?"

He smiled softly, "Not a breakfast kind of guy."

"Well Lee, I'm not letting you head off on an empty stomach."

"Then I'll take it to go please." And with that Brass nodded in defeat.

Eggs and bacon were fried in the kitchen as Lee worked at the handle. It didn't take long, the door was old and part of the reason the handle broke so easy in the first place. He took liberties in adding a few dead bolts for extra security. When he rose to his feet she was already standing behind him with a paper bag that smelled quite heavenly.

"Got time for a round in the ring?" She asked, her voice almost shaky with hopefulness.

"Sorry Brass." Again he smiled, but it was forced, enough that she was starting to feel even worse about the night before.

"Look…" She moved her eyes to the floor, " I uh… I had a lot to drink last night. I know you said your apologies, and I'd be lying if I were to say I was sorry for what I said at Rosko's but… I am sorry if I came on a little to strong last night…"

She bit her lip, finally dragging her eyes to his, "It was foolish, and really not like me-"

His fingers brushed across her cheek before sliding to the base of her neck and pulling her towards his lips. She mumbled against his hard kiss with surprise, but when his hands tangled into her hair she let it all go for a brief but unforgettable kiss.

"Apology not accepted." He whispered, his forehead resting against hers.

"Lee…" She began but he stepped back, his hard stare silencing her. She already felt a shiver as his warm presence left her body.

"I have to go."

"I know." Her arms cross, "Be careful would you?"

"I always am."

"Lying already?" She smirked.

"I don't lie."

"Everyone lies, Lee."

His brow furrowed at her expression. There was something about the way she said it that caught him off guard but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Good bye." She kissed him on the cheek lightly, and slowly closed the door.

* * *

Hours later, and high above the ocean, the Expendables were on their journey towards Bulgaria. The men were relaxing as much as they could by playing poker, sharpening blades and triple checking weapons. Although the silence was normally comfortable, Hale couldn't bare it any longer, "Hey Christmas… what did you get up to last night?"

"Why?" He asked from the cockpit, giving Barney an incredulous look, but all Ross did was shrug.

"Word on the street is you and Brass went out for some grub." This peaked the other men's attention. Sensing a barrage of comments coming on Lee removed himself as co-pilot and slide into the back they were waiting like wolves.

"Not exactly."

"So it happened?" Toll asked straight, "Not exactly means it didn't exactly not happen."

"Look I was trying to find out more about how she found this folder, whatever she might've found online."

"All business?" Yang piped up. Lee's glare was one of surprised now; usually the quiet expendable had his back, but not this time.

"Yes…" He replied slowly, taking his words carefully, "The dinner was all business."

_Not a complete lie._

"Shit." Caesar went back to sharpening his blade in disappointment.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He shrugged, "Brass is a helluva woman. And we all could tell the way you were looking at her in training. We figured it was only a matter of time, but you white folk are all the same. You all act smart, high and mighty but when it comes to women you're a moron."

Gunnar and Toll Road didn't seem at all bothered by his generalization, too transfixed on hounding Lee for his vague answers.

"Well if I live to fight another day, I'll make a move, just cause ol' Caesar asked me too." But Hale didn't buy it, Lee's tone dripped with sarcasm.

"If we live to fight another day I'm whoopin' your sorry ass Christmas." Hale plucked a cell phone out of his pocket, and then smiled the biggest smile, "See Lee, I don't wait for 'someday' I jump on that train the moment it hits the station."

"Whose that?" They all looked at the text that popped up on his phone.

"Sabina, Brass set me up with her. At least my girl has my back. Sabina is this hot little number Brass met at the laundry mat. She's real smart. We went out for dinner last night, " Hale smiled again, his eyes looking off into the distance with a haze of lust and pride, "she just messaged about dinner when I get back, it's been a long time since I made it past date 1."

The men all nodded with respect, something Lee wasn't used to. Usually they were all quick to give a good jab and laugh it off. As Lee turned back to the cockpit Hale added, "You play it safe Christmas, every time. You don't think you do, but you do. You pick the type that will always be there when you get back. The kind that won't ask any questions, and when they do is when good ol saint nick' will pick up and leave."

"I don't give up." Lee growled.

"You don't. You push them to the point they give up on you Lee. Then you don't have to live with the guilt." Pain flashed across Lee's eyes as he remembered Lace, it had been a year since her as well. Hale noticed and recovered, "I get it man, I do. But there is a point where you gotta want more then a warm bed and place to lay your head. There is a point where you have something more worth dying for then just a paycheck."

The men were all silent, they're furrowed brows and dark eyes held memories of years long since passed. As good as the times got between them their darkness became a void that would pull them all in.

"We're close" Ross piped up from the front, and the team began to move restlessly about the cabin, trying to forget what ever their minds had managed to drag up in the last few minutes.

"You're good with the plan?" Ross asked.

"We've been over it a hundred times." Lee eased into his seat only this time he felt a burden weighing upon his shoulders.

"Yea but I've never sent a man in alone."

Lee looked at his friend, "I'll be fine Barney, you're not just sending any man in—you're sending in your best man."

"I don't recall being asked to go in." Gunnar piped up and the cabin filled with laughter, replacing the darkness from moments before.

"Humor me." Ross murmured.

"Fine." Lee obliged, "We hit the drop off point. You and the boys head to the rendezvous and pick up the girl. The transport from A to B will take a couple days, making the roundtrip nearly a week. In that time I will to a little reconnaissance on the factory where the Reptile's has been known to make many deals. According to Intel it's still very much in use and whoever has been left behind to work on some new product for the market might be willing to answer a few questions. " He glanced at his knives, "I've been told I'm pretty easy to open up to."

"After I get what I need I will meet you back at the plane in 5 days. The trek on foot to the factory will be about the same amount of time as transporting the daughter, so if we all stick to the plan we should be back to Tool's and drinking a cold one in a week—and one step closer to finding the Reptile."

* * *

Everything was going according to plan. He had spent one night sleeping against the cold dirt of the thick forest that lay for miles between the plane and the factory. Although the silence was maddening at times the frequent updates he received from Gunnar on how the transport was going helped elevate the boredom.

"_Just picked up the hottie with a body."_

"_How much are we getting paid again?"_

"_Seriously contemplating taking the girl, I'd even give up my cut of the money."_

"_Barney said she was 18, is that legal in Bulgaria?"_

"_Typing on this com is making me look like the smart one of the group. She digs it."_

"_How's the cold dirt and 2x4 up your ass?"_

Lee's replies were less creative but that never stopped Gunnar. Between the jabs and comments Gunnar relayed actual information of the mission, and it seemed to be going swimmingly on their end.

By noon on the second day Lee had made it to the factory, within just enough distance to properly observe.

It was old, very old; old enough that anything from the air, or even within a few hundred feet would think it hadn't been in service for decades. But with the right technology Lee could spot several heat signatures. From their Intel they had discovered the factory was a cover for an old bomb test site and production line. The A floor below the factory contained labs upon labs where different nuclear concoctions were created, and a few yards from that they were tested in heavily fortified detonation rooms. He suspected the majority of what he was looking for would be below, as well would be the guards left to watch over it. Including the most important man of the hour, Anisim Yehzov, scientist to the Reptile.

If he were going to get anywhere close to him he would have to play the stealth card.

Finding an air vent to the underground complex deep under overgrown weeds and bush, Lee cut his way to the top of the gate and then drilled the bolts of the lid out ever so slowly. He couldn't guarantee there wasn't a guard or two below him at this very moment and no matter the price of his equipment, his thermal imaging camera couldn't penetrate through the concrete.

Although he was a big man he had learned a thing or two from Yang. He dropped silently onto the cement floor of the corridor and moved swiftly to an opening in the wall. After a few seconds of silence he gradually moved down the corridor towards its furthest point, the bomb testing area. Gunnar had the idea that if the Reptile had any real fire power like his reputation claimed, especially of the nuclear assortment, he'd be keeping it pressurized and contained in the deepest part of the grounds. Gunnar had admitted openly that if it were up to him he would've kept it safely in one of the three detonation rooms since the walls were the most fortified, and the doors could lock from either side leaving the only visibility into the room from a thick plastic window in the door. He also added that all three detonation chambers would be heavily guarded, as to not reveal exactly where the most important information may be kept.

Almost in the clear he crouched low to the corner of the wall, the door to the first detonation chamber just around the bend. A knife in each hand he took a deep breath and then spun, hands at the ready…but there was no one there.

He smirked at their stupidity; _they're making this so easy_. He'd have no problem finding the room, as apparently they could only afford to guard one.

Sure enough around the last bend were two guards; one was checking his pockets out of boredom while the other stared carried on a conversation with himself. _Way to easy_, Christmas grinned and without any effort he threw 2 knives at the throats of each guard. Reclaiming his blades he did another quick perimeter check of the area before moving on to the prize. Without a doubt Anisim would be on the other side of the door—playing scientist in his makeshift lab.

The resistant glass was scuffed and nearly hard to see through, but Lee pushed as close to it as possible as he searched around what he could see of the room. There were a lot of vaults, freezers, and lab tables covered in an assortment of chemicals and equipments. Notes scattered the place, and some of the cabinets were lying on their sides as if a scuffle had already happened. He repositioned himself to looking around the right side of the room, but much of the filing cabinets blocked his view, until, "Yehzov, you bastard."

He found him sitting in a chair, starring up at something but Lee's view was completely obstructed. The longer he stared the worse the sinking feeling in his gut got. Yehzov's hands were tied behind the back of the chair and fresh blood glistened off of his brow. Hovering above his eyes was the nozzle of desert eagle.

Lee cursed and immediately went for the handle of the door but unfortunately it was locked from the inside. He slammed a hand into the steel and craned his neck to see pass the cabinets that blocked his view. Lee wasn't sure what angered him more, the fact that someone would beat him at the chance to take out a guy like Yehzov or that if he died Lee would lose the only lead they had at finding the Reptile.

With more force he slammed his hands into the door, even his whole shoulder, anything to make a sound and grab the hit man's attention. In a heat of rage images of Billy's final moments, the folder, and Barney's look of total trust in Lee flashed before his eyes. Sacrificing all safety he began to yell, "Oi! Hey-ey-ey, over here! Over here god damn it! HEY!"

Anisim Yehzov's slow and beaten down face began to twist towards the door, his eyes filled with solidarity as well as fear, as he looked Lee dead in the face.

And then the gun went off. Once. Twice.

Anisim's face bore no resemblance anymore as it was scattered around the floor. Disappointment and guilt washed over Lee as he slammed his shoulder and fists into the door continuously. _This was my job, this was my kill, and this was my mission._

"Sooner or later you're going to have to come out here!" Lee hollered.

He watched as hands grabbed at notes that were covered in blood and scattered around the scientist's feet before disappearing out of view again. Christmas moved around again, craning his neck to see where the hit man had went, his mind running over the blue print of the place again and again, _this is the only exit, this is the only exit, this is the only exit._ His revenge was so close he could taste it as he stepped back and waited intently for the handle to start turning.

The cold sensation of an assault rifle nozzle tickled the back of his neck just below his black beret. "Don't move." Came the thick Russian accent of a guard from behind him.

But before he could utter a single obscenity for being caught, the door in front of him began to unlock. He looked up at the window to see his rival staring back at him, "Brass?"


	7. Chapter 7

Slowly the door opened but her eyes never left his. They were locked on but not a single ounce of fear was in them. The guard began yelling at her in Russian, and from what Lee could understand he was asking her not so politely to drop her weapon.

Brass stepped down out of the vault and her face fell out of view before slowly reappearing on the other side of the door only this time she was frightened. With tears welling in her eyes she began to reply in fluent Russian with a pained and exasperated tone. Lee couldn't believe it; she was trying to pull one over on the guard, pretending to be the damsel in distress with blood on her hands, and worst of all… it was working.

She stepped slowly towards him; from what Lee could pick out she was babbling about the gun going off and so much blood. The closer she got the more he let his guard down despite yelling at her to put her weapon on the ground. When she was only a foot or so from the guard she slowly bent forward to place the gun on the ground, still making eye contact as tears rolled down her cheeks and her make up began to run with it.

Then in a swift move she dropped her weapon and shot her leg up into a scorpion kick nailing the guard right in the face. He stumbled ass over teakettle losing his grip on the weapon.

Swinging her leg back down she lunged for the gun on all fours, and in one movement Brass threw the assault rifle down the hall and pulled her secondary weapon from a holster hidden under her leather jacket and let loose 2 bullets in the fallen guard.

She clamoured to her feet and swivelled around with the gun pointed straight to Lee's face only to be met with a gun pointed directly at hers as well.

"Lee." She said directly, her voice emotionless and dark, "I need you to listen to me."

"What the fuck is going on and who the hell are you?" His accent with thick and his voice gruff, teeth barred like he was ready to chew her throat out.

"None of that matters right now. What matters is we both make it out of this place alive. Surely to god he called other guards when he heard you yelling, and they definitely would've heard the shots fired a moment ago."

Lee smirked but in no way was it comforting, "I need to make it out alive. I don't give a shit about you."

"I have what you need from Anisim. We need to trust each other-" Lee laughed with such disdain, "At _least_ till we make it out of this place and into the safe zone. Then I'm yours; too question, to yell at, whatever. I promise." Slowly she lowered her gun, disarmed it and placed it back into its holster.

Her back straightened and she stared him dead in the eyes, "Or you can kill me now, and kiss the Reptile good bye."

Lee was trapped and his world crumbling around him. Like following the markings of a snake in sand he attempted to trace her treachery back to where it all began, find the red flags he missed. There just wasn't enough time. He hated her, he could kill her, but he needed to make it out alive.

Cursing under his breath he dropped his weapon, "Don't think for one second this means I trust you."

"Of course." Her eyes were ablaze, and he couldn't take his gaze away from them. Big bright and searching, yet hard and cold. The woman from days before was now long since removed from her body language. _Was every last drop of it a lie? _Then he recalled her ferocity in the ring, and this same glint in this moment had been in her eyes then-small and faint.

"No guns." He stated as he placed his gun in its holster, "I don't need you trying to shoot me."

She wiped remaining tears from her face and trails of make-up. She looked gritty, dangerous and confident, "This will be fun."

* * *

"We need to split up." Brass gasped, sweat on her brow from the previous fight but still a fire in her eyes to keep going. They had just plowed through the first wave and could already hear guards a few corridors away and fast on their feet.

"No."

"Come on. Just for one hallway, I'll mow down a few to the left, you keep trucking forward and I'll double back."

"No."

"Christmas!"

The footsteps were getting louder and louder, the sound closing in around them from both sides.

"Fine." Lee mumbled, still unhappy with this outcome.

Brass didn't wait for further instruction, she pounced down the left leaving him far behind. He couldn't help but feel that would probably be the last time he'd see her for a long time, it was too obvious, she'd run off. The manhunt would no longer be for the reptile, it'd be for Brass. _Does the reptile even exist?_

He felt as though he was questioning the universe, as everything was unfolding before him, and yet there just was not enough time for calculated decisions and a proper plan. He jumped to the ceiling and used the piping to pull himself to the top, dangling over the corridor. Any second now they would all be upon him.

Brass turned the corner with too much zealous, skidding on her feet to find 4 guards down the hall. They yelled with fervor and raised their rifles and unleashed a furry of bullets and sparks. Light on her feet she hopped back into the previous hallway, landing flat on her back.

She clutched her side and whimpered, the sweat on her brow sliding down her face.

The men stopped firing but persisted forward to the end of the hallway before they heard her cries, "Stop! Pozhaluysta ! YA udaril ! Please…please…"

She sounded pained, crying, and as they whipped around the corner they could see her sprawled on the ground holding her side. One of the guard new English, and relished all too well in telling her, "Its over sweetheart."

"Oh you speak English?" Her voice was normal and almost innocent. They looked at each other; the English speaker cocked an eyebrow but before anyone could reply she swept a leg.

Two of the four guards plummeted while the other two raced to grab they rifles into position. Number three, as Brass so aptly named them in her head, was the first to fire but was still not fast enough. She was on her feet and shoving his rifle down so that when he pulled the trigger it rained a monsoon of pain into his feet ripping through his combat shoes straight into the meat.

With one hand forcing his rifle down, she used her other to grab the knife out of number four's hip sheath and shoved it right into his neck. With a push kick his body flew straight out of the corridor.

When she finally let go of number three, he tumbled backwards screaming in pain but the shock was enough that he could not do much else. She mentally noted he was as good as gone, "How did you put it? It's over sweetheart?"

Two scrambled to his feet attempting to help his partner up, but before he could Brass had leapt into the air sending both her feet into his chest. She smirked at the deafening crack of his ribs as he flew back into the wall. Her legs sent her flying down onto her back as well, yet the moment she hit the ground she launched herself into a backwards roll till she was on all fours and staring up with the hunger of a lioness at lucky guard number one. She could see the paralyzing fear in his body, the look in his eyes, the shake of his hands, _perks of the job._

She leapt forward again, going for his left side. Brass grabbed onto the front of his uniform, swung her legs up and over his chest. The momentum caused him to fall backwards putting Brass in the prime position—legs over his chest and neck and his arm pulled taught between her legs and body. She arched her back, nailing a beautiful armbar, as every tendon and joint in his arm snapped and pulled out of its socket. She landed a final kick directly under his chin, using the momentum to help her rise to her feet. In all her joy she had almost forgotten Christmas.

* * *

10 guards surged into the hallway. They seemed confused until a burst of gunfire and the cry of a woman caught their attention. Lee cringed immediately as Brass's pained voice tugged at his heart. Without a moment more he dropped down on a guard, the knife slipping right into the casualties right shoulder. Lee fell to his feet behind the guard, his arm parallel with the guards as he clutched the rifled and pushed the trigger down over the dead mans grasp, showering bullets into the 9 other man. _This is child's play._

He had a knife clutched tight into his balled up fist as he dared to look around the corner. He expected to see Brass bleeding out and another fury of gun toting men, but instead he watched as Brass leapt like a cat to her opponent's body and in a twist of motion was on the ground and breaking an arm. She spun to meet his eyes; only she no longer looked cold and calculating. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

Brass took off at a jog towards him, a swarm of energy and laughter straining in her stomach, as she was giddy beyond belief. Lee didn't seem impressed but she had too much adrenalin pumping through her veins to care. When she reached him she sparred no moment before grabbing him by the thick of the neck and pulling him into a kiss. He grunted in surprise, even protest, but she couldn't care. She let go and said rather breathlessly, "Isn't this invigorating?" Her smile was huge and her eyes full of excitement. So much so that he smiled as well, _shit this _IS_ fun._

She pulled on his neck again; only this time she hoisted herself up, thrusting her momentum around his body. She used his neck as an anchor and she snapped her leg out behind him and straight into the face of an oncoming attacker. The man flew into the side wall, gun falling from his hands and his head hitting rather perfectly into the wall rendering him unconscious, at the least.

She landed behind Lee, spinning him around to meet her gaze again, "Come on, let's go!" She took off running down the hall, leaving Lee locked in utter astonishment. _Remember Lee, she is now the enemy…_

Christ this was going to be difficult. Hale was right, she was one helluva woman.

* * *

They were out and running from the factory to the forest on the outskirts. When they reached a quarter mile into the thick of the bush they both came to a stop to catch their breath.

Brass glanced back to see if they had been followed, "So what's the plan now?" She gasped when her hands were clutched and a zip tie slipped over them and tightened.

"Lee!" She hollered as she fell to her knees.

"Oh come on love, you didn't think after that little show in the compound I'd really let you walk away." He laughed, with a little too much joy for her liking. He hoisted her up and over his shoulder.

"What is this the cave man days? At least let me walk." She huffed.

He snickered, clearly taking pleasure in her anger, "Oh I think this will do just fine for a little while, but I would keep quiet if I was you, unless you like duct tape."

"That sounds like a third date sort of question, wouldn't you agree?"

Lee grumbled and jostled his grip on her, letting her fall back on his shoulder again. Brass grunted in pain and fell silent for a few moments.

"Where are we going?" She asked, her tone clearly more serious now, all adrenalin from the rampage through the compound leaving her system.

"Back to Kansas, this ride is over."

"And then?"

"We'll see what Barney has in store for you."

She cringed. Of all the people she could fear in the group, it was Barney that worried her the most. He seemed calm, cool and collected. Perhaps he'd listen to what she had to say. Or maybe he'd decide to remove all the paper work she had stolen from the test room and leave her here to die.

"Why did you do it?" Lee asked, stealing the moment of silence between them and filling it with the most honest question he could ask. He was quiet, perhaps to hide the pain behind his words but she heard it loud and clear and it made her cringe.

"I have my reasons." She answered as strongly as she could.

He dropped her into a bed of leaves but it wasn't cushioned enough to take the sting away from her backside. "Enlighten me."

She was silent, ridged and her face stone cold.

"These men…" He growled, "They trusted you. Hell, _I_ trusted you. I have to know what was worth it to lie to all of us."

"It's complicated." She whispered.

"Are you sure? Because your little routine in the hallway with the guard was quite moving. And the cries of pain? You're a regular Hollywood star." His sarcasm dripped with disdain.

"A woman's got to do what a woman's got to do to get the job done. But you were not the job Lee. I admit I lied about a few things. Manipulated you and the other expendables into taking this job… but I needed your help to do this. You were never the job Lee."

"And how do I know this isn't another act? Really, your sincerity is killing me." He mocked before grabbing her and tying a rope around her waist. He tried desperately not to look into her eyes but he could feel them boring a hole right through him. She was ridged and back to being silent. He turned her and shoved her forward, "Keep walking."

It was going to be a long and quiet hike to the plane, the fear of confronting the others eating at both of their insides.


End file.
